Systems and methods for roster management in fantasy sports contest applications

ABSTRACT

The fantasy sports contest application of the present invention alerts the user of necessary roster changes before an upcoming fantasy sports competition. The fantasy sports contest application may evaluate the user&#39;s team roster before an upcoming fantasy sports competition to ensure that all roster spots on the team roster are filled with athletes available for real-life competitions. The fantasy sports contest application may also identify roster changes and roster transactions that may be beneficial to a user&#39;s fantasy sports contest team roster. 
     The fantasy sports contest application may recommend roster changes and roster transactions to the user by evaluating the performance of athletes using performance criteria. The performance criteria can be based on the past performance of athletes, either overall, or for certain situations. The performance criteria may be predefined by the system, user-editable, or any suitable combination thereof.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/940,550, filed Jul. 12, 2013, currently pending, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/234,345, filed Aug.30, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,509,929, issued Aug. 13, 2013 all of whichare herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a fantasy sports contest application, and moreparticularly, systems and methods are provided to assist a user tomanage a fantasy sports contest team roster in a fantasy sports contest.

Athletic endeavors have long supported a broad range of secondarycompetitions which include wagering on the outcome of particular gamesand wagering on the performance of a particular player.

In known fantasy sports contests, the user selects a roster, a team, aparticular individual, or a group of individuals in an athletic contest.The user of a fantasy sports contest system is given the ability to takeon the role of a fictional general manager with powers which may includethe ability to draft, trade, dismiss and otherwise manage the player orplayers on the user's fantasy sports team.

Conventionally, the rules in a fantasy sports contest are set by afantasy sports contest system provider, or are set by a leaguecommissioner who sets the rules under which a group of fantasy orrotisserie sports contest users compete against each other. For example,for every goal scored in real-life by a member of the user's fantasysoccer team, a conventional fantasy sports contest system might awardfive fantasy points to the user in the fantasy competition.

The fantasy sports contest system provider may also provide additionalservices, which include providing statistical information on real-lifegames and players, tracking users' scores in the fantasy contest, andenabling transactions and other interactions among the users.

A fantasy sports contest may be based on a variety of real-life athleticevents, and typically involves selecting players from real-life teamsports (e.g., football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer or rugby),selecting players from real-life sports where individuals compete (e.g.,golf, tennis or automotive racing), or selecting participants fromcompetitions involving animals (e.g., horse and dog racing). The user'sselections are typically stored in the user's fantasy sports contestroster. The performance of these selections in real-life competitiondetermines the user's performance in the fantasy sports competition.

A fantasy sports contest goes beyond traditional one-time wageringsystems (e.g., selecting picks for the winners of a weekend's footballgames or picking who will win a most valuable player award).

In fantasy sports, the performance of the user's fantasy sports contestteam is determined by the real-life performance of athletes on theuser's fantasy sports contest team roster. Accordingly, the effectivemanagement of a fantasy sports contest team roster is the key to successin fantasy sports contests. Conventional fantasy sports contest systemsoffer little assistance to the user for managing a fantasy sportscontest team roster beyond providing a skeletal apparatus for enablingand updating roster changes and transactions. This can have adetrimental effect on the enjoyment of fantasy sports contest users,especially novice or casual users. For novice or casual users, timecommitment required to properly manage a fantasy sports contest teamroster can lead to a loss of interest in the fantasy sports contest.

It would therefore be desirable to present a fantasy sports contestsystem that actively aids the user in managing a fantasy sports contestteam roster.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, it is therefore an object of the presentinvention to provide a user with a fantasy sports contest applicationhaving improved roster management features.

This and other objects are accomplished in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention by providing a fantasy sportscontest application that identifies roster changes and rostertransactions that may be beneficial to the user's fantasy sports contestteam roster.

The fantasy sports contest application of the present invention may beimplemented on any suitable platform, or on any suitable combination ofplatforms. For example, in an interactive television system, the fantasysports contest application may be implemented using a multichannelset-top box receiver, a television capable of running software programs,a two-way remote control, any other suitable device or any suitablecombination of devices.

The fantasy sports contest application of the present invention mayaccess data from a statistical database and a contest database. Thestatistical database may store up-to-date information and statistics forall real-life athletes used in a fantasy sports contest. The contestdatabase may store fantasy sports contest information, such as teamroster information, contest schedules, and contest rules.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the fantasy sports contestapplication may aid the user by identifying necessary changes to theuser's fantasy sports contest team roster. In one suitable approach, thefantasy sports contest application may evaluate the user's team rosterbefore an upcoming round of the fantasy sports contest to ensure thatall roster spots on the team roster are filled with athletes availablefor competition in real-life contests. An available athlete being anathlete that is physically able to compete in a real-life contest, andwho is scheduled to compete in a real-life contest. If any roster spotson the user's team roster are empty, or if an athlete on the user's teamroster is unavailable (e.g., due to injury, bye-weeks, etc.) forcompetition, the fantasy sports contest application may alert the uservia an automatically generated message. If the user does not respond tothe alert message, the fantasy sports contest application mayautomatically remedy the situation to prevent the loss of performancefor the user's fantasy sports contest roster.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application mayrecommend roster changes to the user by evaluating the performance ofathletes on the team roster. The fantasy sports contest application mayevaluate the performance of all athletes on the user's team roster usingperformance criteria. The performance criteria can be based on the pastperformance of athletes, either overall, or for certain situations. Theperformance criteria may be predefined by the system, user-editable, orany suitable combination thereof. For example, if the fantasy sportscontest application identifies an athlete in reserve who, according toperformance criteria, may perform better in the next competition thanthe athlete currently in the starting line up, the fantasy sportscontest application may generate a recommendation message for display tothe user detailing the recommended roster change and the reasoningbehind the change. Similarly, the fantasy sports content application mayevaluate a pool of athletes discarded by other teams, or that areotherwise freely available to the user, and generates a recommendationmessage to the user when the fantasy sports contest applicationidentities an athlete outperforming an athlete on the user's teamroster.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application mayprovide fantasy sports contest users with recommended rostertransactions. Within a group of the fantasy sports contest in which thetrading of athletes is allowed between users (e.g., a fantasy sportscontest league), the fantasy sports contest application may evaluateusers' team rosters using performance criteria to identify recommendedroster transactions. In one suitable approach, a roster transactionrecommended by the fantasy sports contest application may be deemed,using performance criteria, to be mutually beneficial to both fantasysports contest team involved. In which case the fantasy sports contestapplication may automatically generate a recommendation message fordisplay to both users proposing the recommended roster transaction. Inanother suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application mayrecommend roster transactions to the user that take into considerationonly the user's fantasy sports contest team's interests.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the fantasy sports contestapplication further may provide an instant messaging feature havingroster management tools. The fantasy sports contest application mayprovide instant messaging between users within a competitive field(e.g., a fantasy sports contest league). In addition, the fantasy sportscontest application may provide access to roster management tools withinthe instant messaging interface that allow users to propose and completeroster transactions. In one suitable approach, the fantasy sportscontest application may provide the user with recommendations concerningroster transactions with other users. In another suitable approach, thefantasy sports contest application may store a history of rostertransaction information in a message box. It should be understood thatthe roster management tools implemented using the instant messaginginterface may also be provided using a personal computer, a cellularphone, a PDA, or any other suitable communications device.

In one suitable approach, a group of users may communicate with eachother using voice communications devices. The fantasy sports contestapplication may enable one of the users, having access to the fantasysports contest application, to propose and transmit trades involving twoor more of the users' fantasy sports contest team rosters. For example,the proposed trades may be transmitted to wireless access protocol(“WAP”) enabled devices, or other devices capable of running applets orother programs. From such a device, the user may press a button orotherwise indicate whether he or she wishes to accept or decline theproposed trade. Such selection being transmitted back to the fantasysports contest application. Alternatively, the users may call into thefantasy sports contest application, which may be equipped withinteractive voice response (“IVR”) technology enabling one or more usersto access roster management tools.

Further features of the invention, its nature, and various advantageswill be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an illustrative fantasy sports contest system inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an illustrative fantasy sports contest televisionsystem in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an illustrative fantasy sports contest televisionsystem having network nodes in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative message alerting the user of necessarychanges to be made in the user's team roster in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative team roster screen showing a roster spotvacated by an unavailable athlete along with available replacementathletes in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in alerting theuser of necessary changes in the user's team roster in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative display screen that enables the user toselect and edit performance criteria used by the fantasy spores contestapplication to generate roster recommendations in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows an illustrative recommendation message displayed to theuser for detailing a recommended roster change for a one game period inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative recommendation message displayed to theuser detailing a recommended roster change in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in providing theuser with recommended roster changes in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 11 shows an illustrative recommendation message displayed to theuser for detailing a recommended roster transaction in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 shows an illustrative recommendation message displayed to theuser showing a recommended athlete in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 13 shows an illustrative display screen that enables the user tooffer players in a roster transaction in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in providing theuser with recommended roster transactions in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 shows an illustrative display screen for an instant messagingfeature having roster management capabilities in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 shows an illustrative display screen having team rosterinformation for an instant messaging feature having roster managementcapabilities in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 shows an illustrative display screen of an instant messagingfeature having roster management capabilities displaying a proposedroster transaction in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 18 shows an illustrative display screen for providing the user witha recommendation concerning a proposed roster transaction in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 shows an illustrative display screen for an instant messagingfeature with roster management capabilities displaying a rostertransaction query in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 20 shows an illustrative display screen for a message box featurethat records all of the user's sent and received trade proposals andtrade queries in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 21 shows an illustrative display screen for a message box featurethat records all of the user's sent and received trade proposals andtrade queries displaying a proposed roster transaction in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 shows an illustrative display screen for a transactionrecommendation feature that evaluates multiple trade proposals for thesame athlete in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in providing theuser with recommendations on the benefit of proposed roster transactionsin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 24 shows an illustrative display screen of a fantasy sports contestapplication for a fantasy sports contest based on a television sportsbroadcast in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is primarily described herein in terms of thefantasy sports contest application. It will be understood that any othersuitable software, hardware, or both may be used in conjunction with thefantasy sports contest application or in place of the fantasy sportscontest application to implement some or all of the features of thepresent invention.

The fantasy sports contest application of the present invention may beany suitable software, hardware, or both that may be used to implementthe features of the present invention. The fantasy sports contestapplication may be implemented at any suitable location in the systemdescribed in FIG. 1. For example, the fantasy sports contest applicationmay be implemented at user equipment 110, at server 102, or at any othersuitable location (that is not necessarily shown in FIG. 1), or at anycombination of locations. For example, certain portions of the fantasysports contest application may be implemented at user equipment 110(e.g., those portions that implement features involved in userinteraction), whereas certain other portions of the fantasy sportscontest application may be implemented at server 102 (e.g., thoseportions that implement features involved in the processing of clientrequests and in the tracking of the performance of contestants). Anysuch suitable arrangement of the fantasy sports contest application maybe implemented in accordance with the present invention.

The fantasy sports contest application of the present invention may beused to implement fantasy sports contests that include any suitablesports contest in which the user is given the ability to make decisionsthat may affect the standing of the user in the sports contest. Forexample, in typical team-oriented fantasy sports contests, the user mayparticipate in the capacity of a general manager. In this situation, theuser may be have responsibilities such as creating a team roster (e.g.,drafting players), selecting player positions, selecting reserves,making trades, and otherwise maintaining the composition of the user'steam roster. It will be understood that any other suitabledecision-making capability may be given to the user in a fantasy sportscontest in addition to or in place of those indicated above.

The fantasy sports contest of the present invention need not be limitedor restricted in time. For example, a fantasy sports contest may last anentire season, multiple seasons, a portion of the season, a definiteperiod of time (e.g., one month, two weeks, three days, one hour, etc.),the duration of a particular event (e.g., Wimbledon, etc.), a portion ofa particular event, or any other suitable period of time.

In one suitable approach, fantasy sports contests may include contestsin which the user is not necessarily playing the role of a generalmanager. For example, fantasy sports contests may involve the userdetermining or guessing (i.e., blindly or with calculation) whetherparticular outcomes will occur (e.g., whether a particular golfer willmake the next put). Any such suitable decision-making may be the basinof a fantasy sports contest or a part of a fantasy sports contest.

The fantasy sports contests of the present invention may use anysuitable one or more scoring systems. For example, existing fantasyscoring systems include straight point systems (e.g., points are awardedand subtracted based on real-life plays without regard to theperformance of other players on other fantasy teams in a league),rotisserie systems (e.g., points are awarded based on the user'srelative ranking against other users), head-to-head systems (e.g., usersin a league are matched against one another in a round-robin series ofone-on-one contests during the course of a season). There are merelyillustrative scoring systems. Any other suitable scoring system may beused in the fantasy sports contests of the present invention.

It will be understood that the above are merely illustrative elements offantasy sports contests. Any other suitable arrangement or approach maybe used. It will further be understood that the nature of the fantasysports contests may vary depending on which activity or sport isinvolved or based on any other suitable criteria.

The fantasy sports contest application of the present invention mayprovide to the user fantasy sports contest information. Fantasy sportscontest information may include any suitable information associated withone or more fantasy sports contests in which the user participates or inwhich the user may have an interest. For example, fantasy sports contestinformation may include information regarding the user's one or morerosters, the user's standing in each of the fantasy sports contests inwhich the user participates, one or more point tallies that the user hasaccumulated in each of the user's respective fantasy sports contests,information regarding the number of trades the user may make,information regarding the amount of fantasy money the user has availableto add players to a roster, information regarding deadlines to maketrades or perform any other suitable task associated with one or morefantasy sports contests, or any other suitable information. Fantasysports contest information may also include information regardingreal-life athletes (e.g., names, statistics, etc.), real-life sportsleagues (e.g., game schedules, standings, etc.), real-life sportingevents (e.g., baseball games, golf tournaments, tennis matches, etc.),sports arenas, weather information, sports commentary, or any othersuitable information regarding real-life sports or events that may havean affect on the one or more fantasy sports contest in which the userparticipates.

Aspects of the operation of fantasy sports contest applications aredescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,603 (Hughes, et al.), U.S. Pat. No.5,846,132 (Junkin), U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,854 (Junkin), and U.S. Pat. No.6,193,610 (Junkin), which are all hereby incorporated by referenceherein in their entireties.

An illustrative fantasy sports contest system 100 in accordance with thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 1. A fantasy sports contestapplication may be at least partially implemented on server 102 insystem 100. Server 102 may include any suitable one or more servers. Forexample, server 102 may include personal computers, high-capacity datastorage servers, mainframe computers, computer networks (e.g., localarea network, wide area network, intranet, etc.). Server 102 may accessone or more databases (e.g., databases 104, 106, 114, and 116) that maybe used to store information related to fantasy sports.

Databases 104, 106, 114, and 116 may reside on server 102, may partiallyreside on one ore more servers 102, or may reside remote to server 102.Databases 104 may be used to store information relating to the fantasysports contest, such as competition schedules, standings, and any otherinformation related to the fantasy sports contest. Database 106 may beused to store real-life statistical information, fantasy sports conteststatistical information, or other statistical information in relation tothe fantasy sports contest. Database 114 may be used to store rosterinformation such as the athletes on each fantasy sports contest teamroster and information related to each athlete's upcoming contests andpast performances. Database 116 may be used to store information onrules of the fantasy sports contest.

The user of a fantasy sports contest application may communicate withserver 102 over communications network 108. Communications network 108may include any suitable communications network. For example,communications network 108 may include a satellite link, a telephonenetwork link, an Internet link, a cable or fiber optic link, a microwavelink, a combination of such links, or any other suitable communicationspath. Communications network 108 may include any suitable routers,proxies, any other suitable devices, or any combination thereof (e.g.,gateway servers, domain name servers, Internet service provider proxyservers, etc.).

The fantasy sports contest information transmitted by server 102 to userequipment 110 includes data communicated to users as part of the fantasysports contest such as statistical information, rosters, standings, etc.If desired, some of the fantasy sports contest information may beprovided using data sources at facilities other than server 102, andwhich are directly connected to user equipment 110 via communicationsnetwork 108.

Server 102 may distribute the fantasy sports contest application andrelated data, as well as fantasy sports contest information to userequipment 110 via communications network 108.

User equipment 110 at each user's location may include processingequipment 119. Processing equipment 119 may be based on a personalcomputer, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), ahandheld computing device, etc. Processing equipment 119 may be used toimplement the fantasy sports contest application at the user's location.Alternatively, the fantasy sports contest application may be partiallyimplemented on server 102 and partially implemented on processingequipment 119.

A number of suitable techniques may be used to distribute fantasy sportscontest information. For example, fantasy sports contest information maybe distributed from server 102 in a continuously-looped arrangement,where the fantasy sports contest application implemented on userprocessing equipment 119 may capture appropriate fantasy sports contestinformation for display from the stream of fantasy sports contestinformation being transmitted. With such a continuously-loopedarrangement, a map indicating the location of the latest fantasy sportscontest information may be downloaded periodically to user equipment110. This allows any databases used in server 102 for storing fantasysports contest information to be updated. Fantasy sports contestinformation may be downloaded to user equipment 110 periodically andstored locally. The fantasy sports contest information may be accessedlocally when needed by the fantasy sports contest applicationimplemented (at least partially) using processing equipment 119 at theuser's location. Another suitable approach involves using the fantasysports contest application to request fantasy sports contest informationas needed. Information on the location of fantasy sports contestinformation may be downloaded to user equipment 110, and may be updatedas needed. The fantasy sports contest application implemented (at leastpartially) using processing equipment 119 may then request and receive,as needed, appropriate fantasy sports contest information.

At the user's location, display equipment 118 may display to the userscreens generated by the fantasy sports contest application havingfantasy sports contest information. The fantasy sports contestinformation may include audio information. Audio equipment 120 may beused to output audio information. Audio equipment may include speakersfound in televisions, speakers for personal computers, cellular phones,PDAs, tablet PCs, or any other suitable audio equipment. The user mayuse input device 112 to access the fantasy sports contest application.Such input devices may include one or more suitable devices such asremote controls, keyboards, voice controlled devices, track balls,computer mice or any other suitable device.

Certain functions such as the user's instructions to make a change inthe user's fantasy sports contest team roster may require user equipment110 to transmit data to server 102 over communications network 108. Ifdesired, such data may be transmitted using a communications networkseparate from communications network 108. If functions such as these areprovided using communications networks separate from communicationsnetwork 108, some communications originating from user equipment 110 maybe made directly with the separate networks.

In one embodiment, the fantasy sports contest application of the presentinvention may be implemented on an interactive television platform. Anillustrative fantasy sports television system 200 in accordance withthis embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 2. Mainfacility 202 may include a fantasy sports contest database 204 forstoring fantasy sports contest information such as the roster of playersavailable for drafting, the schedule for the contest, rules, or anyother suitable contest information. Main facility 202 may also include astatistical database 206 for storing real-life and fantasy statistics ona pool of athletes used in a fantasy sports contest. Information fromdatabases 204 and 206 may be transmitted to television distributionfacility 208 via communications link 210. Link 210 may be a satellitelink, a telephone network link, an Internet link, a cable or fiber opticlink, a microwave link, a combination of such links, or any othersuitable communications link.

The fantasy sports contest information transmitted by main facility 202to television distribution facility 208 includes data which iscommunicated to users as part of the contest such as statisticalinformation, rosters, standings, etc. If desired, some of the contestinformation may be provided using data sources at facilities other thanmain facility 202. For example, data related to tracking playerinteraction with the contest application and other applications may becommunicated to a data collection location that is separate from mainfacility 202 and separate from television distribution facility 208.

Television distribution facility 208 may distribute the fantasy sportscontest application and fantasy sports contest information to usertelevision equipment 214 or other user equipment of multiple users viacommunications paths 216. This information may be distributed over anout-of-band channel on paths 216 and may be distributed using any of anumber of suitable techniques. For example, still images and text may bedistributed over an out-of-band channel using an out-of-band modulator.

Each user may have a receiver such as set-top box 218 or other suitabletelevision or computer equipment into which circuitry similar to set-topbox circuitry has been integrated. For clarity, the present invention isdescribed primarily in connection with user equipment based on a set-topbox arrangement. This is merely illustrative. The fantasy sports contestapplication may be implemented using user television equipment 214 thatis based on a personal computer, a WebTV box, a personal computertelevision (PC/TV), or handheld computing device, etc. If desired, thefantasy sports contest application may be implemented using aclient-server architecture using user television equipment 214 as aclient processor and a server such as server 212.

Communications path 216 preferably has sufficient bandwidth to allowtelevision distribution facility 208 to distribute scheduled televisionprogramming, pay programming, and other information to set-top boxes 218in addition to the fantasy sports contest application and relatedinformation. Multiple television and audio channels (analog, digital, orboth analog and digital) may be provided to set-top boxes 218 viacommunications path 216. If desired, fantasy sports contest informationmay be distributed by one or more distribution facilities that aresimilar to, but separate from, television distribution facility 208using communications paths that are separate from communications path216 (e.g., using Internet paths).

Certain functions such as the user's instructions to make a change inhis roster choices may require set-top boxes 218 to transmit data totelevision distribution facility 208 over communications path 216. Ifdesired, such data may be transmitted over telephone lines or otherseparate communications paths. If functions such as these are providedusing facilities separate from television distribution facility 208,some of the communications involving set-top box 218 may be madedirectly with the separate facilities.

The fantasy sports contest application of the present invention may alsobe implemented on an on-line system using personal computers or othersuitable equipment linked to a computer network (e.g., the Internet), aninteractive application interface (e.g., an Internet browser). With suchan arrangement, the fantasy sports contest application and relatedinformation may be stored remotely on a server that the user of theon-line fantasy sports contest application may access through anInternet connection and may download locally. Server 212 need not beincorporated in a television distribution facility, the communicationpath 216 could be an Internet connection and a basic personal computerwith a browser or other suitable equipment could substitute for usertelevision equipment client processor 214.

A number of suitable techniques may be used in the fantasy sportstelevision system to distribute fantasy sports contest information. Forexample, if communications path 216 includes a number of traditionalanalog television channels, one or more of these channels may be used tosupport a number of digital channels. The bandwidth of each analogchannel that is used to support digital channels may support ten or moreof such digital channels. Set-top box 218 and server 212 may negotiateto determine a channel on which to provide the desired information.Fantasy sports contest information that originates from main facility202 or a separate facility may be distributed to user televisionequipment 214 using these or other suitable techniques or a combinationof such techniques.

Fantasy sports contest information may be downloaded periodically (e.g.,every 30 minutes) to set-top box 218 and stored locally. The fantasysports contest information to store may be based on those athletes thatrelate to the user's team roster. The fantasy sports contest informationmay be accessed locally when needed by the fantasy sports contestapplication implemented, at least partially, using the set-top box 218.Alternatively, fantasy sports contest information may be provided in acontinuously-looped arrangement on one or more digital channels oncommunications path 216. With such a continuously looped arrangement, amap indicating the location of the latest fantasy sports contestinformation may be downloaded periodically to set-top box 218 (e.g.,every thirty minutes). This allows the content on the digital channelsto be updated. The fantasy sports contest application implemented (atleast partially) on set-top box 218 may use the map to locate desiredfantasy sports contest information on the digital channels.

During use of the fantasy sports contest application implemented onset-top box 218, information relating to the fantasy sports contest maybe displayed on display 220. Set-top box 218, and display 220 (if partof a television) may be controlled by one or more remote controls 222 orany other suitable user input interfaces such as a wireless keyboard,mouse, trackball, dedicated set of buttons, etc.

Another suitable approach involves using a server such as server 212 orserver 304 (FIG. 3) to provide fantasy sports contest information onrequest (e.g., after set-top box 218 and server 212 or server 304 havenegotiated to set up a download operation). If desired, server 212 orserver 304 may provide instructions to set-top box 218 on where thedesired fantasy sports contest information may be located on a server, adatabase, or a particular digital channel. The fantasy sports contestinformation may be updated periodically if the server that isresponsible for providing the instructions for informing the set-top boxof the location of the fantasy sports contest information is alsoupdated periodically.

As shown in FIG. 3, the capabilities of server 212 may be provided usingservers 304 located at network nodes 302. Servers such as servers 304may be used instead of server 212 or may be used in conjunction withserver 212 located at television distribution facility 208.

A cable modem may be used to distribute text, graphics, audio and videoinformation. The text, graphics, audio and video information may also bedistributed using a combination of these techniques or any othersuitable technique.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the fantasy sports contestapplication may alert the user of necessary changes in the user'sfantasy sports contest team roster. In one suitable approach, thefantasy sports contest application may evaluate the user's team rosterbefore the start of an upcoming round of the fantasy sports contest toensure that each roster spot affecting the performance of the user'sfantasy sports contest team is filled with an available athlete. Anavailable athlete being an athlete physically able to perform in areal-life competition, and who is scheduled to be on his or her team'sactive roster in a real-life competition. By evaluating the user'sfantasy sports contest roster before each round of the fantasy sportscontest, the fantasy sports contest application ensures that emptyroster spots (e.g., in a starting lineup), or unavailable athletes(e.g., due to injury, suspension, bye-week, etc.), will not adverselyaffect the performance of the user's fantasy sports contest team in theupcoming round of the fantasy sports contest.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application mayevaluate the user's team roster at one preset time or at multiple presettimes (e.g., one hour, eight hours, one day) before the start of eachround of the fantasy sports contest. In another suitable approach, thefantasy sports contest application may alert the user whenever a rosterspot on the user's team roster becomes empty or whenever an athlete onthe user's team roster becomes unavailable (e.g., due to injury). Inanother suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application mayalert the user of necessary roster changes within a band of time (e.g.,four hours) before the start of the upcoming round of the fantasy sportscontest.

As illustrated by FIG. 4, the fantasy sports contest application maydisplay alert message 410 to the user if the fantasy sports contestapplication determines that a change must be made in the user's fantasysports contest team roster. Alert message 410 may be displayed to theuser when the fantasy sports contest application is invoked, and mayprevent the user from taking any other actions in the fantasy sportscontest application before resolving the necessary roster change. Thefantasy sports contest application may provide selectable element 402 inalert message 410. Upon user selection of selectable element 402, thefantasy sports contest application may display a screen that enables theuser to make the necessary or advisable roster change to the user's teamroster. In other suitable approaches, the user may be alerted ofnecessary or advisable roster changes by an electronic mail message, atelephone call, an alphanumeric pager message, any other suitable methodof communicating with the user, or any suitable combination of methods.

An illustrative team roster screen is shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG.5, the fantasy sports contest application has automatically removed anunavailable athlete from starting lineup 510, and highlighted the vacantroster spot. The fantasy sports contest application may also highlightin reserves roster 520 any replacement athletes that are available forplacement into starting lineup 510. In this example, the starting thirdbaseman, player 6, is unavailable for competition. Player 6'sunavailable status is represented by indicator 504 (e.g., an asterisk)next to the player's name. Player 6's spot in starting lineup 510 hasbeen automatically vacated and available replacement third basemen,players 10 and 11, are highlighted in reserves roster 520 for selection.Athletes who are not third basemen or are not available for placement inplayer 6's vacated roster spot are indicated in FIG. 5 by gray shading.A plurality of methods exist for indicating the status of an athlete,including the use of highlights, colors, varying fonts, symbols, etc.Any or all of these methods may be used in the present system toindicate availability and eligibility status.

If the user fails to make the necessary changes in the user's teamroster, the fantasy sports contest application may automatically makethe necessary or advisable roster changes using eligible replacementathletes at a preset time (e.g., one minute) before the start of thefantasy sports contest. In the case where more than one eligiblereplacement athlete is available for one roster spot, the fantasy sportscontest application may also determine which of the replacement athletesto place into the starting lineup using its own evaluation criteria. Forexample, the fantasy sports contest application may compare theperformance of the eligible replacement athletes using real-lifestatistics, fantasy sports contest statistics, or a combination thereof,to determine which replacement athlete should be placed into a vacantroster spot.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of illustrative steps for alerting the user ofnecessary or advisable changes to the user's fantasy sports contest teamroster. At step 602, the fantasy sports contest application is invoked.At step 604, the fantasy sports contest application evaluates the user'sfantasy sports contest team roster before the start of an upcoming roundof the fantasy sports contest to ensure that all roster spots affectingthe performance of the user's fantasy sports contest team (e.g., rosterspots in a starting lineup) are filled with available athletes. At step606, if the fantasy sports contest application finds necessary oradvisable changes to the user's fantasy sports contest team roster, thenthe fantasy sports contest application may alert the user (e.g., thenext time the user invoices the fantasy sports contest application) andenable the user to make the necessary or advisable changes.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the fantasy sports contestapplication seeks to improve the performance of the user's fantasysports contest team roster by identifying beneficial roster changes androster transactions to the user. Roster changes being rearrangements ofathletes already on the user's team roster, and roster transactionsbeing trades involving the exchange of athletes from one team roster toother team rosters.

In order to produce intelligent recommendations, the fantasy sportscontest application may use a uniform system for quantifying andevaluating the performance of an athlete. The following example of sucha system is provided for illustrative purposes only, and any suitablesystem for evaluating athletic performance may be used in the fantasysports contest application of the present invention. The presentillustrative system uses real-life athletic statistics as the basis forevaluating athletic performance. A statistical database, such asdatabase 206, may include detailed and updated statistics on allathletes used in the fantasy sports contest. These detailed statisticsform a numerical representation of an athlete's performance over hisentire career and may be available from an outside source (e.g., MajorLeague Baseball™).

Using detailed statistical information, the fantasy sports contestapplication may evaluate an athlete's performance using a plurality ofperformance criteria. The performance criteria may be used to targetparticular statistical information for determining a particular type ofathletic performance. For example, one particular performance criteriamay target the performance of an athlete in the past ten real-lifecontests, thereby limiting the statistical information used forevaluation purposes to the statistics generated from the past tenreal-life contests. Another particular performance criteria may targetan athlete's performance against left-handed pitchers, thereby limitingthe statistical information used for evaluation to statistics generatedby the athlete against left-handed pitchers. The use of performancecriteria may provide useful insights on an athlete's strengths andweaknesses that are difficult to discern from general statisticalinformation.

Using the targeted statistical information produced using performancecriteria, the fantasy sports contest application may apply a system forweighting the statistical information that is substantially equivalentto the system used to convert real-life statistics to fantasy sportscontest points in the fantasy sports contest. For example, five fantasypoints may be awarded for a home run, one fantasy point for a run battedin, etc. This result may then be averaged to more accurately compare anathlete's performance against the performance of other athletes.

Variations of performance criteria are vast, and the performancecriteria used by the fantasy sports contest application may bepre-programmed, may be selected and edited by the user, or may beprovided in any other suitable manner. An illustrative screen forselecting and editing the performance criteria to be used by the fantasysports contest application is shown in FIG. 7. As seen in FIG. 7,performance criteria to be used for recommending roster changes withinthe same team roster and performance criteria to be used forrecommending roster transactions with other team rosters are selectedseparately using elements 704 and 702, respectively. Elements 708 and706 may be used by the user to edit performance criteria. Alternatively,the fantasy sports contest application may be pre-programmed with a setof performance criteria for use in comparing athletic performance.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application mayrestrict the number of performance criteria used to recommend rosterchanges and roster transactions to a single performance criteria.Alternatively, the fantasy sports contest application may enable the useof a plurality of performance criteria.

In order to evaluate athletic performance in the context of fantasysports, real-life statistics may be converted into fantasy sportscontest scoring information according to the rules of the fantasy sportscontest. Alternatively, the fantasy sports contest application may userules or methods for converting real-life statistics to fantasy sportscontest scoring information that are different from the rules or methodsused in the fantasy sports contest. Using fantasy sports contest scoringinformation generated from the real-life statistics, the fantasy sportscontest application may generate a performance score for eachcorresponding performance criteria using the statistics targeted by theperformance criteria. Preferably, the performance scores are in the formof averaged scores that are easily compared.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application may useperformance scores to generate intelligent recommendations on changes tothe user's fantasy sports contest team roster. Performance scores arecalculated using statistics of past performance and may only serve as areasonable predictor of future performance. One particularlyadvantageous practice is to, continually or periodically, compareathletes in the starting lineup (e.g., lineup of athletes impacting afantasy sports contest) of the user's team roster against athletes inthe reserve lineup of the user's team roster before each round of thefantasy sports contest. Using performance scores, the fantasy sportscontest application may compare each starting athlete with the reserveathletes eligible to replace the starting athlete.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application maycompare athletes by using, in parallel or in series, performancecriteria that are specifically relevant to the athletes' real-lifecontests during the user's next round of competition in the fantasysports contest. For example, during the user's next round of competitionin the fantasy sports contest, a reserve athlete is scheduled to competein a real-life contest at home against team A, and the starting athleteis scheduled to compete in an away game against team B. The fantasysports contest application may compare the starting athlete'sperformance score in away games against team B against the reserveathletes performance score in home games against team A. If an athleteis competing in multiple real-life contests during the user's next roundof competition in the fantasy sports contest, or if performance criteriaare used in parallel (e.g., resulting in more than one performance scorefor each athlete), performance scores may averaged, or the real-lifestatistics may be averaged to produce an average performance score foruse in comparisons.

If the fantasy sports contest application uses performance criteria inseries, then only one performance score is generated for each athlete.For example, the “Home vs. Away” and the “Next Opponent” performancecriteria may be used in series to target an athlete's statistics fromhome games vs. team X. Alternatively, if the fantasy sports contestapplication uses the performance criteria in parallel, then multipleperformance scores may be generated for each athlete. If one or moreperformance scores fall in favor of the reserve athlete, the fantasysports contest application may generate a recommendation message to theuser recommending a promotion for the reserve athlete. If multipleperformance scores fall in favor of a reserve athlete, the fantasysports contest application may generate a single recommendation messagedetailing the multiple reasons behind recommending an athlete'spromotion to the starting lineup, or may generate multiplerecommendation messages detailing each reason.

In an example illustrated by FIG. 8, the user is informed by element 503that there are three recommendation messages awaiting review. Byselecting recommendations link 501, the user is shown display 810 havinga recommendation to change the user's starting lineup by replacingplayer 9 with player 15. The fantasy sports contest application givesthe reason that player 15 is more likely to succeed in his next contestthan player 9. The user is prompted by display 810 to either accept orreject the roster change detailed in the message using selectableelements 802 and 804, respectively. User selection of element 812 mayenable the user to minimize display 810 to access the team rosterscreen. If the user chooses to accept the recommended roster change, thefantasy sports contest application may automatically rearrange theuser's team roster to reflect the change. Once a decision has beenreached on the first recommendation message, the next recommendationmessage may be displayed in display 810, and so on, until allrecommendation messages have been shown to the user.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application maygenerate both long-term and single-game specific recommendations forroster changes. In an example illustrated by FIG. 9, the performancecriteria for season long performance has generated a performance scorein favor of player 15 over player 9. Considering the long-term nature ofthe performance criteria used to generate the favorable performancescore, the fantasy sports contest application may ignore any conflictingrecommendations based on single-game performance criteria that may favorplayer 9 over player 15. For example, performance criteria targetinggeneral past performance, such as performance for this season, orperformance in the past ten contests, etc., may be considered long-termperformance criteria. Performance criteria used to define a morespecific situation that may be relevant to one contest, such asperformance in home games, performance in games on grass, andperformance versus a left-handed pitcher, etc., may be consideredsingle-game performance criteria.

Alternatively, the user may be able to choose, using elements 720 inFIG. 7, whether to favor long-term performance criteria over single-gameperformance criteria, and vice versa. The fantasy sports contestapplication may inform the user whether a specific recommendation wasbased on long-term or single-game performance criteria. If the userchooses to favor either long-term or single-game performance criteria,then conflicting recommendations may be resolved according to the user'spreference. Alternatively, if no preference is given, then the fantasysports contest application may resolve conflicting recommendations byfavoring either long-term or single-game performance criteria, or maygenerate conflicting recommendations for the user to resolve.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in providing theuser with recommended roster changes. At step 1002 the fantasy sportscontest application is invoked. At step 1004 the fantasy sports contestapplication evaluates, using selected performance criteria, the athleteson the user's starting lineup (i.e., athletes being used in the nextround of the fantasy sports contest) against the athletes held inreserve on the user's team roster. At step 1006, the fantasy sportscontest application generates recommendation messages alerting the userof roster changes that may be beneficial to the performance of theuser's fantasy sports contest team roster. At step 1008, the user electsto view a recommendation message, and at step 1010, the fantasy sportscontest application displays the recommendation message and enables theuser to automatically implement the recommended roster change.

In another suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest applicationidentifies and recommends to the user roster transactions with otherfantasy sports contest team rosters that may be beneficial for theuser's fantasy sports contest team. In one suitable approach, theperformance criteria used to evaluate athletes for possible rostertransactions may be restricted to long-term performance criteria, asopposed to single-game performance criteria. However, the user maydesire situational performance in some cases, such as strategicallymanaging for one key round in the fantasy sports contest, and the choiceof criteria may be left to the user.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application mayevaluate all team rosters in a competitive field to find mutuallybeneficial roster transactions. A mutually beneficial roster transactionmay take the form of a roster transaction where the starting athlete ata certain position on one team is outperformed by the reserve athlete atthat same position on another team, and vice versa. A trade betweenthese teams of outperforming reserve athletes at different positionswould result in upgraded performance for both teams' starting lineups.As illustrated by FIG. 11, a recommendation message detailing arecommended roster transaction may be sent to both users involved forapproval. If mutual approval is granted, then the fantasy sports contestapplication may automatically implement the roster transaction.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application maynote the poorest performing athletic positions in the user's teamroster, and evaluate all other team rosters for athletes at thosepositions who are outperforming the user's starting athletes. Asillustrated by FIG. 12, the fantasy sports contest application may thenrecommend a trade for an outperforming athlete and query the user forathletes to offer in return using element 1202. Alternatively, infantasy sports contests that do not use athletic positions asconstraints, the fantasy sports contest application may simply targetathletes that are outperforming the weakest performing athletes on theuser's starting lineup.

FIG. 13 shows an illustrative offer screen 1300 that may be displayedfollowing user selection of element 1202 in FIG. 12. The fantasy sportscontest application may generate a list of recommended athletes to offerin trade by noting the weakest (e.g., lowest scoring) athletic positionson the opposing team's roster, and placing the user's athletes at thosepositions in display box 1310. Alternatively, the fantasy sports contestapplication may generate a list of recommended athletes by noting aparticular performance score of the athlete being requested, and placingathletes with similar performance scores on the list. The user mayrespond to the recommendation message with a trade offer by selectingone or more players displayed in box 1310 or 1320 and selecting element1304. The trade proposal may then be sent to the opposing user forapproval. Upon approval, the fantasy sports contest application mayautomatically implement the roster transaction.

In another suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application mayuse performance criteria to evaluate a pool of freely available athletesagainst athletes on the user's roster. The fantasy sports contestapplication may recommend adding an athlete to the roster, or exchangingan athlete for another already on the roster based on the results ofcomparisons using either long-term or single-game performance criteria.

In another suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application mayrecommend multiparty roster transactions that involve three or morefantasy sports contest teams. A multiparty roster transaction mayinvolve trading an athlete on the user's fantasy sports contest teamroster for athletes from a second fantasy sports team, some of whom arein turn traded for athletes from a third fantasy sports contest teamroster.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart of illustrative steps for providing recommendedroster transactions to the user. At step 1402, the fantasy sportscontest application is invoked. At step 1404, the fantasy sports contestapplication evaluates, using performance criteria, the athletes on theuser's team roster against athletes on all other team roster in acompetitive field. At step 1406, the fantasy sports contest applicationgenerates recommendation messages providing the user with rostertransactions that may be beneficial to the performance of the user'sfantasy sports contest team roster. At step 1408, the user elects toview the recommendation messages, and at step 1410, the fantasy sportscontest application displays the recommendation messages and enables theuser to complete the recommended roster transaction.

In one embodiment, the fantasy sports contest application of the presentinvention provides the user with an instant messaging feature havingroster management capabilities. An illustrative display 1500 of anOwner's Forum is shown in FIG. 15. Display 1500 includes display box1510 having selectable elements 1502 and 1504. Element 1502 is displayedfor each user instantly present in the forum, and element 1504 may beused to select all elements 1502. As seen in FIG. 15, shading ofelements 1502 may be used to indicate user selection. Dialogue box 1520is provided, along with message entry box 1530 and message send element1522 to enable the user to view and send instant messages. Tool bar 1524may be provided in dialogue box 1520 for scrolling through past messagesin the user's messaging session. Dialogue box 1520 may display allmessages sent by users in the forum, or may display only messages fromusers selected in box 1510. Similarly, messages being sent by the userusing message entry box 1530 and send element 1522 may be sent to allusers in the forum, or may be sent to only selected users.

As illustrated by FIG. 16, user selection of “Transactions” element 1570may cause the fantasy sports contest application to display screen 1600that enables the user to construct trade queries and trade proposals.Screen 1600 may show the user's team roster and a roster of athletes onthe fantasy sports contest teams represented by selected elements 1502.More than one fantasy sports contest team may be selected at the sametime using elements 1502, and all fantasy sports contest teams may beselected using element 1504.

From roster display 1610, the user may construct a desired rostertransaction. The fantasy sports contest application may send the userconstructed trade proposal detailing the desired roster transaction tothe appropriate user upon user selection of element 1602. The user maysend trade queries after filling in only an offered athlete or only anrequested athlete. A query for a requested athlete is sent to theappropriate team having that athlete on its team roster, whereas a queryfor an offered athlete may be sent to all teams in the fantasy sportsleague, or only those teams selected in box 1510.

As illustrated by FIG. 17, the trade proposal or trade query may bedisplayed in dialogue box 1520 using selectable element 1702, theselection of which may spawn display box 1710 detailing the tradeproposal or trade query. Display box 1710 may include selectableelements 1714 and 1716 that enable the user to accept or reject thetrade proposal, respectively. If a trade proposal is approved by theuser, the fantasy sports contest application may automatically updateboth rosters to reflect the transaction. In one suitable approach thefantasy sports contest application may provide the user with arecommendation concerning the trade proposal displayed in box 1710. Forexample, upon user selection of selectable element 1718, the fantasysports contest application may display a transaction recommendationscreen.

In other suitable arrangements not depicted in the FIGS., the fantasysports contest application may enable the user to withdraw an offerbefore the offer has been accepted by the other user (e.g., the user haschanged his or her mind), or to counteroffer a trade proposal receivedfrom another team (e.g., edit the offer received from another team).

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application mayevaluate the user's offered athlete against the received athlete using aperformance score generated using a single performance criteria, using aperformance score generated using multiple performance criteria inseries, using an averaged performance score generated using multipleperformance criteria in parallel, or any suitable combination thereof.The selection of performance criteria to be used may be left to the user(e.g., using selection screen 700 of FIG. 7) or may be chosen by thefantasy sports contest application.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application maycompare athletes offered in trade that play at different athleticpositions. In this case, the fantasy sports contest application mayconsider the performance score total of a team starting lineup resultingfrom a proposed trade against the performance score total of theoriginal team starting lineup. A trade may be recommended if theperformance score total of the team starting lineup is improved by thetrade. Conversely, the fantasy sports contest application may notrecommend a trade if the performance score total of the team startinglineup is not improved by the trade. As illustrated in FIG. 18, thefantasy sports contest application may display a transactionrecommendation in box 1810. User selection of element 1802 causes thefantasy sports contest application to implement the recommendation inbox 1810. For example, if the trade in box 1810 is recommended by thefantasy sports contest application, user selection of element 1802causes the trade to be implemented. User selection of element 1804 maycause the fantasy sports contest application to display a screensubstantially equivalent to that of FIG. 7, where the user may be ableto edit the performance criteria used by the fantasy sports contestapplication to generate recommendations on roster transactions.

As illustrated by FIG. 19, the fantasy sports contest application mayenable the user may respond to a trade query by either selecting element1916 to ignore the trade query, or by selecting element 1914 to respondto the trade query. If the user ignores the received trade query, thefantasy sports contest application may inform the user that initiatedthe trade query using an instant message. If the user responds to thequery by offering athletes in return (e.g., by selecting element 1914and using an ensuing display substantially equivalent to the one shownin FIG. 13), the fantasy sports contest application may return the tradequery as a trade proposal to the initiating user via an instant message.

In another suitable approach, the instant messaging forum enables theuser to propose and complete roster transactions with other users in afantasy sports contest league regardless of the user's instant presencein the forum. This may be accomplished by providing a message box thatstores the all trade proposals and trade queries sent and received bythe user. The message box may also track the status of all tradeproposals and trade queries sent and received by the user (e.g., whethera trade proposal has been accepted, ignored, etc.).

As illustrated in FIG. 15, “Messages” element 1560 may be provided thatserves as a link to a message box. As shown in FIG. 20, the fantasysports contest application may display message box 2000 upon userselection of element 1560. Within message box 2000, trade proposals sentby the user may be recorded in region 2010, and trade proposals receivedby the user may be recorded in region 2020. Boxes 2014 and 2024 may beused to indicate the status of sent and received trade proposals,respectively. Where a checkmark may indicate an accepted proposal, an Xmay indicate a rejected proposal, and a blank box may indicate aproposal that has not been reviewed. Similarly, trade queries sent andreceived by the user may be recorded in regions 2030 and 2040,respectively. Boxes 2034 and 2044 may be used to indicate the status ofsent and received trade queries, where a checkmark may indicate a querythat has been returned as a trade proposal, an X may indicate a querythat has been ignored, and a blank box may indicate a query that has notbeen reviewed. Selectable element 2036 may be used to hold statusinformation for a query sent to a large number of teams, and may spawndisplay box 2038 when selected by the user. Display box 2038 may includeelements 2034 that indicate the status of a trade query with regard toan individual fantasy sports contest team.

As illustrated by FIG. 21, trade proposals and trade queries may bestored in the form of selectable elements 2012/2022/2032/2042. Upon userselection of a selectable element, the fantasy sports contestapplication may display message box 2110 detailing the trade proposal ortrade query and enabling the user to perform one or more actions withrespect to the trade proposal or trade query. A previously resolvedtrade proposal or trade query may be displayed without an accompanyingselectable element. The history of proposals and queries kept in themessage box may be limited by a set number, or may be limited by a settime period.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application maydetect the existence of multiple received trade proposals in box 2020for the same athlete on the user's team roster. In this case, thefantasy sports contest application may inform the user of the existenceof multiple trade offers for that same athlete. The fantasy sportscontest application may also offer the user a recommendation on themultiple trade proposals. As shown in FIG. 21, user selection of element2022 representing one of the multiple trade offers causes the fantasysports contest application to display message box 2110 informing theuser of other trade offers for the same athlete. Message box 2110 mayalso include selectable element 2118 in that provides the user with alink to a recommendation on the multiple trade offers.

As illustrated in FIG. 22, user selection of element 2118 may cause thefantasy sports contest application to display screen 2200 with arecommendation on multiple trade proposals. The fantasy sports contestapplication may evaluate each of the offered athletes using aperformance score generated using a single performance criteria, using aperformance score generated using multiple performance criteria inseries, using an averaged performance score generated using multipleperformance criteria in parallel, or any suitable combination thereof.The selection of performance criteria to be used may be left to the user(e.g., using selection screen 700 of FIG. 7) or may be chosen by thefantasy sports contest application.

In one suitable approach, the fantasy sports contest application mayaccommodate a situation where athletes offered in trade play atdifferent athletic positions. In such a case, the fantasy sports contestapplication may consider the performance score total of the teamstarting lineup resulting from each trade proposal against theperformance score total of the original team starting lineup. A trademay be recommended if the performance score total of the team startinglineup is improved by the trade. Conversely, the fantasy sports contestapplication may not recommend a trade if the performance score total ofthe team starting lineup is not improved by the trade.

Using the performance score totals of the starting lineups resultingfrom multiple trade proposals, the fantasy sports contest applicationmay also rank multiple trade proposals. As illustrated by FIG. 23, thefantasy sports contest application has evaluated three trade offers forplayer 1, and provided recommended/not recommended advice concerningeach transaction, as well as a rank for each recommended transaction.

In another suitable approach, one or more athletes to be offered fromthe user's fantasy sports contest team roster in each of the tradeproposals may be a different athlete or a different combination ofathletes. The fantasy sports contest application may employ a processsubstantially equivalent to the process described above for providingthe user with recommendations on each trade proposal. For example, atrade proposal that improves a total performance score of the user'steam roster may be recommended, and vice versa. The fantasy sportscontest application may also rank the trade proposals using thedifferential between the total performance score of the user's teamroster from before and after the proposed roster transaction. Forexample, the fantasy sports contest application may rank a tradeproposal that benefits the user's team roster by the most number ofperformance score points first.

FIG. 23 is a flow chart of illustrative steps for providing the userwith an instant messaging featuring having roster managementcapabilities within the fantasy sports contest application. At step 2302the fantasy sports contest application is invoked. At step 2304, thefantasy sports contest application enables the user to communicateproposed roster transactions with other users using an instant messagingforum. At step 2306, the fantasy sports contest application provides theuser with recommendations on proposed roster transactions. At step 2308,the fantasy sports contest application enables the user to completeroster transactions using the instant messaging forum.

The fantasy sports contest application of the present invention is notlimited to use with traditional fantasy sports contests, which areusually season-long contests between fantasy sports contest teamsorganized in a fantasy sports contest league. The fantasy sports contestapplication of the present invention may be used in fantasy sportscontests that involve choosing and managing picks in a single real-lifesports contest, or other fantasy-style contests that involve choosingand managing a roster of picks over any duration of time in a real-lifesports contest.

FIG. 24 shows an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, wherethe functionality of the fantasy sports contest application may beprovided simultaneously with a television broadcast related to thefantasy sports contest. As shown in FIG. 24, fantasy sports contestapplication display 2410 may be displayed along with reduced sizetelevision broadcast of a sports contest 2450. Fantasy sports contestapplication display 2410 may be displayed in other ways, such as usingan overlay, a separate display window, and any other suitable displaymethod. All features of the present fantasy sports contest applicationmay be provided using display 2410. As shown in FIG. 24, the instantmessaging feature may be provided using elements 2420, 2430, and 2422.The user may select other users present in the forum using elements2402. Recommendations may be accessed using element 2402, the messagebox using element 2460, and the roster transaction screen using element2470. Fantasy sports contest information may be displayed using displayregion 2480. Alternatively, these features may be abridged or otherwisemodified to accommodate a fantasy sports contest based, at least inpart, on the performance of athletes competing in a game that is beingtelevised (e.g., television broadcast 2450).

Thus, systems and methods for providing a fantasy sports contestapplication with improved roster management capabilities are provided.One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can bepracticed by other than the described embodiments, which are presentedfor purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the presentinvention is limited only by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for using a fantasy sports contestapplication to manage a fantasy sports team roster, the methodcomprising: receiving, at a first time via input circuitry of a userdevice, a user input to create a fantasy sports team roster associatedwith a fantasy sports contest, wherein the fantasy sports team rostercomprises a first real-life sports player, and wherein the user deviceis associated with a profile of a user; accessing, at a second time, areal-life sports team roster associated with the first real-life sportsplayer from a database of real-life sports team rosters located on aserver remote to the user device; determining, based on the real-lifesports team roster, availability of the first real-life sports playerwith respect to a round of the fantasy sports contest; and in responseto determining that the first real-life sports player is unavailablewith respect to the round: identifying a second real-life sports playerthat is available with respect to the round; retrieving data identifyinga first role of the first real-life sports player and a second role ofthe second real-life sports player; determining that the secondreal-life sports player is a replacement for the first real-life sportsplayer when the first role matches the second role; receiving, at theuser device, an alert comprising first data about the unavailability ofthe first real-life sports player and second data identifying the secondreal-life sports player as a replacement for the first real-life sportsplayer; and based on the alert, generating for display, at the userdevice, a selectable element related to replacing the first real-lifesports player with the second real-life sports player.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein determining that the second real-life sports player isa replacement for the first real-life sports player further comprises:identifying a third real-life sports player that is available withrespect to the round; computing a first performance score of the secondreal-life sports player and a second performance score of the thirdreal-life sports player, wherein the first performance score and thesecond performance score are proportional to athletic performance of thesecond real-life sports player and the third real-life sports player,respectively, with respect to the fantasy sports contest; and selectingthe second real-life sports player in response to determining that thefirst performance score exceeds the second performance score.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the first performance score is computed basedon converting real-life sports statistics for the second real-lifesports player to a first score in the fantasy sports contest inaccordance with rules of the fantasy sports contest, and wherein thesecond performance score is computed based on converting real-lifesports statistics for the third real-life sports player to a secondscore in the in the fantasy sports contest in accordance with rules ofthe fantasy sports contest.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining a start time corresponding to the beginning ofthe round; determining, within a threshold amount of time before thestart time of the round, that the first real-life sports player isunavailable with respect to the round and that the first real-lifesports player in a starting lineup of the fantasy sports roster; and inresponse to determining that that the first real-life sports player isunavailable with respect to the round and is in a starting lineup of thefantasy sports roster, replacing the first real-life sports player withthe second real-life sports player.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a user selection of the selectable element via theinput circuitry of the user device; and in response to receiving theuser selection, replacing the first real-life sports player with thesecond real-life sports player in the fantasy sports team roster.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the user device is a first user device,further comprising: identifying, based on the profile of the user, asecond user device; and transmitting the alert to the second userdevice.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second real-life sportsplayer is on a reserve lineup of the fantasy sports team roster, andwherein the first real-life sports player is on a starting lineup of thefantasy sports team roster, further comprising: replacing the firstreal-life sports player with the second real-life sports player byplacing the second real-life sports player on the starting lineup of thefantasy sports team roster and placing the first real-life sports playeron the reserve lineup of the fantasy sports team roster.
 8. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: generating for display a plurality ofreal-life sports players associated with the fantasy sports team roster;and visually distinguishing the first real-life sports player withrespect to the plurality of real-life sports players associated with thefantasy sports team roster in response to determining that the firstreal-life sports player is unavailable with respect to the round.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: generating for display aplurality of real-life sports players associated with the fantasy sportsteam roster; and visually distinguishing the second real-life sportsplayer with respect to the plurality of real-life sports players inresponse to determining that the second real-life sports player is areplacement for the first real-life sports player.
 10. A system forusing a fantasy sports contest application to manage a fantasy sportsteam roster, the system comprising control circuitry configured to:receive, at a first time via input circuitry of a user device, a userinput to create a fantasy sports team roster associated with a fantasysports contest, wherein the fantasy sports team roster comprises a firstreal-life sports player, and wherein the user device is associated witha profile of a user; accessing, at a second time, a real-life sportsteam roster associated with the first real-life sports player from adatabase of real-life sports team rosters located on a server remote tothe user device; determine, based on the real-life sports team roster,availability of the first real-life sports player with respect to around of the fantasy sports contest; and in response to determining thatthe first real-life sports player is unavailable with respect to theround: identify a second real-life sports player that is available withrespect to the round; retrieve data identifying a first role of thefirst real-life sports player and a second role of the second real-lifesports player; determine that the second real-life sports player is areplacement for the first real-life sports player when the first rolematches the second role; receive, at the user device, an alertcomprising first data about the unavailability of the first real-lifesports player and second data identifying identifies the secondreal-life sports player as a replacement for the first real-life sportsplayer; and based on the alert, generate for display, at the userdevice, a selectable element related to replacing the first real-lifesports player with the second real-life sports player.
 11. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the control circuitry is further configured, whendetermining that the second real-life sports player is a replacement forthe first real-life sports player, to: identify a third real-life sportsplayer that is available with respect to the round; compute a firstperformance score of the second real-life sports player and a secondperformance score of the third real-life sports player, wherein thefirst performance score and the second performance score areproportional to athletic performance of the second real-life sportsplayer and the third real-life sports player, respectively, with respectto the fantasy sports contest; and select the second real-life sportsplayer in response to determining that the first performance scoreexceeds the second performance score.
 12. The system of claim 11,wherein the first performance score is computed based on convertingreal-life sports statistics for the second real-life sports player to afirst score in the fantasy sports contest in accordance with rules ofthe fantasy sports contest, and wherein the second performance score iscomputed based on converting real-life sports statistics for the thirdreal-life sports player to a second score in the in the fantasy sportscontest in accordance with rules of the fantasy sports contest.
 13. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the control circuitry is further configuredto: determine a start time corresponding to the beginning of the round;determine, within a threshold amount of time before the start time ofthe round, that the first real-life sports player is unavailable withrespect to the round and that the first real-life sports player in astarting lineup of the fantasy sports roster; and in response todetermining that that the first real-life sports player is unavailablewith respect to the round and is in a starting lineup of the fantasysports roster, replace the first real-life sports player with the secondreal-life sports player.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the controlcircuitry is further configured to: receiving a user selection of theselectable element via the input circuitry of the user device; and inresponse to receiving the user selection, replace the first real-lifesports player with the second real-life sports player in the fantasysports team roster.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein the user deviceis a first user device, and wherein the control circuitry is furtherconfigured to: identify, based on the profile of the user, a second userdevice associated with the user; and transmit the alert to the seconduser device.
 16. The system of claim 10, wherein the second real-lifesports player is on a reserve lineup of the fantasy sports team roster,and wherein the first real-life sports player is on a starting lineup ofthe fantasy sports team roster, and wherein the control circuitry isfurther configured to: replace the first real-life sports player withthe second real-life sports player by placing the second real-lifesports player on the starting lineup of the fantasy sports team rosterand placing the first real-life sports player on the reserve lineup ofthe fantasy sports team roster.
 17. The system of claim 10, furthercomprising: generate for display a plurality of real-life sports playersassociated with the fantasy sports team roster; and visually distinguishthe first real-life sports player with respect to the plurality ofreal-life sports players associated with the fantasy sports team rosterin response to determining that the first real-life sports player isunavailable with respect to the round.
 18. The system of claim 10,further comprising: generate for display a plurality of real-life sportsplayers associated with the fantasy sports team roster; and visuallydistinguish the second real-life sports player with respect to theplurality of real-life sports players in response to determining thatthe second real-life sports player is a replacement for the firstreal-life sports player.